CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Tug Valley’s Bryson Elia made just one basket Saturday in the Class A title game against Tucker County.
It’s one he and the Panthers will never forget.
With No. 2 Tug Valley trailing the top seed Mountain Lions by one point and inside 20 seconds remaining, the Panthers committed what appeared to be a costly turnover, leaving their chances at the program’s fourth state championship bleak for a brief period of time. But Elia had other ideas, and just 3 seconds after the turnover, he stole a pass thrown by the Mountain Lions’ Ethan Rosenau at half court and dribbled his way to the basket to make what proved to be a game-winning layup with 13 seconds remaining in the Panthers’ 35-32 victory at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
“I knew I couldn’t give up because it’s do or die,” Elia said. “In that type of situation, it doesn’t matter who scores. It just happened to be me. There was an open opportunity and I attacked the rim.”
The victory wasn’t secured by Tug Valley (22-6) until it came up with a final defensive stop. The Panthers alertly fouled Mountain Lions’ post player Ashton Lycliter with 6 seconds remaining and after forcing Tucker to inbound the ball again, the Mountain Lions attempted a low-percentage jump shot that Garrett Wilfong missed short. Braydun Ferris then made two free throws with 1 second remaining to wrap up the win.
“It’s hard to express and put into words how I feel,” Tug Valley head coach Garland Thompson said. “The school’s only been around 30 years give or take. To win four state titles is simply amazing. It’s not me. It’s the kids and there are little kids out there dreaming that they can one day be like these guys and cut down the nets.”
In a low-scoring game that had the same final score as the Class AAAA title game played earlier Saturday, neither team led by more than six.
“A game that’s a fistfight like that, it comes down to who makes the fewer mistakes and we made a few more than they did,” Mountain Lions’ head coach Daniel Helmick said.
Tucker (23-4) closed the opening quarter with seven unanswered points to turn a two-point deficit into a 10-5 lead. Maddox Anderson hit a three-pointer to begin that stretch, which was followed by a pair of Lycliter jumpers.
The largest lead for either squad came at 15-9 for the Mountain Lions after Owen knots split two free throws 4:03 before halftime.
But TCHS scored only two points the rest of the way, and the Panthers entered halftime with an 18-17 lead after Kaden Hale connected on three three-pointers over a span of 1:08, the last of which came with 1:10 to play in the half and capped the second-quarter scoring.
“Kaden Hale kept us in the game the first half,” Thompson said. “He gave us hope and life because we were on life support at that time.”
Through two quarters, Tucker had an 18-9 rebounding advantage and its offensive rebounding total was one fewer than Tug Valley’s collective output.
While improving its rebounding over the final two quarters, TVHS also upped its defensive pressure. The Panthers led by three on two occasions in the third quarter, but the Mountain Lions finished that frame on a 9-4 run to turn a three-point deficit into a 28-26 lead. Anderson hit his second three on as many attempts during that spurt, which also featured close range baskets by Lycliter and Wilfong.
“Tucker fought us tooth and nail. I know those kids and that coach are hurting over there. I would be, too,” Thompson said. “They battled us. I have the utmost respect for Tucker County and their program. I’m sure we’ll see them somewhere again down the line.”
Bonner began the fourth-quarter scoring with a transition layup to double Tucker’s lead, but the Mountain Lions would score only two points over the final 6 minutes.
“Our kids play good defense with close-outs, charges, help and communicating, and we started to do that on a consistent basis. Nearly every shot from Tucker shot was contested. Defense wins championships.”
Buddy Marcum scored inside with 1:55 to play to put Tug Valley up 31-30, before Tucker took its last lead on a Rosenau layup with 51 seconds left.
Tug Valley held an 11-10 second-half rebounding edge to narrow its deficit on the glass as the Mountain Lions finished with 28 boards to the Panthers’ 20.
Hale led all players with 13 points and Marcum added nine to go with eight rebounds.
“Buddy’s been with me four years. He’s been through the trials, the good, bad and ugly and finally gets to raise that championship trophy,” Thompson said.
Lycliter paced Tucker with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He made 6-of-8 shots, but the Mountain Lions were 8 for 28 otherwise.
“The community has always been behind us,” Rosenau said. “Very thankful to everybody that’s rode with us through our ups and downs. We had it … we had it.”
Tucker had 16 turnovers, 13 of which came after halftime.
“You can’t turn the ball over against them. They thrive on runouts,” Helmick said. “We threw it to them a couple times. But give them credit for guarding their butts off. What shocked me the most is how they got into our guards. I thought we’d handle it better. I’m still proud of our guys and I’m going to miss them.”